Uganda Cranes first choice custodian Abby Dhaira’s participation at the on-going Cecafa Tusker Cup is over after he suffered a nasty head injury in their opening match against rivals Harambee Stars on Saturday.

The Iceland-based goalie is expected to be flown to Nairobi for surgery on his fractured jaw and eye socket after he collided with Stars’ striker Rama Salim as they scrambled for the ball from a dangerous Paul Were’s cross.

“At first we thought it was not a serious injury, but indeed it is a very serious injury. Dhaira has a fractured jaw and eye socket from the tackle against the Kenyan striker and he will have to be flown to Nairobi for surgery,” said Uganda Cranes’ communication officer Fred Katende.

He added: “In his absence we will have to rely on the services of Hamza Mwonge who replaced him in the dying minutes of the match on Saturday.”

Dhaira said he would not blame Salim for the injury, noting that it was purely accidental. “It was a fifty-fifty chance, the striker wanted to score and I wanted to save and we collided in the process and he hit my face with his knee."

"I can’t blame him because it was purely accidental, he could also have been the one injured,” said Dhaira.